Trainer Ricky Hatton predicts Kiryl Relikh will pull off upset win over Ricky Burns
Friday 7 October 2016 21:11, UK
Trainer Ricky Hatton believes Kiryl Relikh will "break a few hearts" with a stunning upset win over WBA super-lightweight champion Ricky Burns.
The Belarusian has been prepared by Hatton for his mandatory title challenge against Burns at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow tonight, live on Sky Sports.
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Relikh has a 21-fight unbeaten record, with his 19 stoppage wins all coming inside five rounds, but Hatton insists the 'Mad Bee' is not purely a knockout puncher.
"He's very good, he's the real deal," Hatton told Sky Sports. "It's interesting you know that when you've got someone with 19 knockouts from 21 fights, people think he's just a punching merchant, but everyone he's fought, he's walked through.
If you saw him with the lads he's been sparring with for this fight, he's a lot more than just a puncher.
"He's not fought anyone at the level of Ricky Burns yet, but the manner in which he's won those fights shows he's got the extra. He's not just a puncher. If you saw him with the lads he's been sparring with for this fight, he's a lot more than just a puncher.
"Having said that, he's going to have to need it with someone like Ricky Burns. He's not going to be able to go in and blast Ricky like he's done others. He's going to have to show a little bit of that boxing brain, which he's done in the sparring and in this build-up to this. He couldn't be any more prepared."
Hatton worked the corner for his gym-mate Michael Gomez when he pulled off a surprise win over Edinburgh's Alex Arthur in 2003 and 'The Hitman' has suggested the home support could be deflated again.
"I'm a boxing fan if I wasn't a trainer or promoter," said the former two-weight world champion. "It will be unusual to go up against Ricky, because you've cheered him on for years.
"I am up against him, my fighter is the real deal, and the last time I was in a Scottish boxing ring was when Michael Gomez beat Alex Arthur.
"We broke a few hearts then and I think we're going to do it tomorrow night. I just hope if we do, do it, I'll still have the same fans in Scotland that I've always had."
